Cap's Playground
by My name's AC
Summary: One night, baby Cap (short for Calvin Antoine Philip) is sleepy but cranky. He misses his parents and only Grandma Mel manages to put the fussy three-year-old to sleep. (Implied and established Static Quake, Huntingbird and Philinda. And mentions of Secret Warriors.)


**Originally written for Philinda 24 kisses project.**

* * *

Cap – Calvin Antoine Philip – ran around the Playground, topless, and Hunter was chasing him, holding the top of his Captain America pajamas.

"Hey, c'mere," Hunter called, running after him.

The toddler giggled and zigzagged across the halls, successfully evading his faux uncle. He walked in the break room and climbed onto the couch, taking a seat next to Mack.

"Still awake, racer?" the man asked, pausing the game he was playing.

"Shh!" Cap ordered with smirk, pressing his index against his lips. "'m hidin' from Unca Hunter."

Mack chuckled quietly and nodded his head, "And your shirt? Where is it?"

"Cap!" Hunter shouted as he ran down the hall, passing by the break room's door.

The boy giggled, clamping his mouth with his tiny hands.

"He's with me, Hunter," Mack called. Cap frowned, lip pouting as he looked up at the man, "It's late, Cap. You have to sleep."

Hunter entered the room, visibly tired, "Here you are, you little weasel."

"I don't wanna go to bed!" Cap fussed, actively resisting as Hunter tried to fit him in his pajama's top.

"C'mon, mate," the British one begged. "Bobbi has hot chocolate for you, but you gotta dress our PJs."

"No!" the boy crossed his arms over his chest. "I want mommy!"

After a few minutes of struggling, Hunter managed to dress him up, but Cap was still grumpy. For a three-year-old, two days without his parents was a long time. Cap was sleepy and he also missed both Daisy and Lincoln. Mack and Hunter could understand why he was so fussy but they couldn't do anything. May heard all the noise in the break room and decided to check on what was going.

Cap immediately stretched his arms out to her, "I don't wanna sleep. I want mommy 'nd daddy."

May sighed and scooped Cap up under the armpits, "It's time for bed. Your parents are on their way and if you go to sleep, they'll get here much faster."

"Really?" he crinkled his nose.

"Really," Hunter chimed, nodding his head for emphasis. "C'mon, I'll tuck you in."

Cap shook his head and laced his arms around May's neck, "'inyls."

"You can go back to what you were doing. I'll put him to sleep," May told them, making the way to Coulson's office. "You are going to get some sleep, aren't you?" she said, looking down at the boy in her arms.

"Yes," Cap mumbled between a yawn, laying his cheek on May's shoulder. "Where did mommy 'nd daddy go?"

How to explain the Secret Warriors to a three-year-old?

"They went to see Santa, to give him your presents' list."

"Oh," he crooned, that petty lie making absolute sense for him. "And Grandpa Phil go too?"

"Went," May corrected. "Yes, Grandpa Phil went as well."

As soon as she entered the Coulson's office, May perched Cap on her hip and walked to the record player.

"What are we listening to tonight?" Looking at the turntable platter, she noticed that there was a record there, "Zeppelin?"

"No," Cap waved his hand, "We listeneded to 'epp'lin 'sterday."

"Then go ahead and pick," she told him, putting Cap down on his feet, watching him walk to Coulson's stack of vinyls.

Cap got on the tip of his toes, going through Coulson's vinyls that were stored upright in one of the shelves. While the boy was picking a record, May took the time to put the Led Zeppelin's vinyl into its protective sleeve and jacket, and storing it back on the shelf again.

"'is one," the boy happily said, running the few steps to May, showing her The Beatles' _Help!_ LP.

Receiving the record from Cap, she placed it on the turntable and gently lowered the needle. Cap immediately started bobbing his head to the tune. May took a seat at Coulson's chair, sitting Cap on her lap. The boy rested his head on her chest and stuck his thumb in his mouth. She wrapped her arms around the boy's little body, keeping him gently tucked in her embrace.

May loved that little boy with all her heart, and if someone would ever ask her what made her happy, May wouldn't hesitate to say that Cap made her happier than anything or anyone else. Of course the team who was like a family to her, also made her happy, and Coulson did too, but that little boy was the sunshine of her life. She and Coulson were the ones that spoiled him rotten, taking now the time to understand what having a family - a child - felt like, as they had never had that chance.

Brushing his brown hair from his forehead, she watched him quietly sucking on his thumb, his breathing pattern getting slower by the minute; he was almost sleeping. And so was she.

Resting her head on the back of the chair, May sunk down on the seat and let her eyes close for a while. Her eyes fluttered open when the music stopped and someone had changed the records. Elvin Bishop's song filled the room now. Coulson, standing by the record player, looked back at the two of them, smiling, once he heard May moving.

 _Fooled Around and Fell in Love_ ; wasn't that true for them? After so many years of fooling around, of getting themselves into failed relationships, they ended up falling in love. It seemed surreal and unthinkable that the two of them, who had been friends and partners for years now, realized their true feeling for each other. It seemed surreal and unthinkable, yes, but they had reached a point in their lives where surreal and unthinkable made sense. And they had reached a point in their lives where there was nothing else unpredictable or dangerous to look forward to. They finally had time in life to be and do whatever they wanted. And they chose to be together, slowly working out that new exciting stage of their lives.

"Didn't mean to wake you," he said.

May gently pushed herself up, looking down at Cap who was already deep in his sleep, "I nodded off, wasn't sleeping." Adjusting the boy in her arms, she asked, "When did you arrive?"

"Just now. Mack said that Cap was with you so I told Daisy and Lincoln to take their time before coming to get him," he explained, walking to the side of his desk.

"Poor little guy," May sighed, "made a fuss about going to bed. He's not used to being apart from them for so long."

Coulson leaned down and put a kiss onto Cap's hair, ruffling it afterwards, "He's got you."

"It's not the same."

"I know," he said, softly pecking her lips, "But as long as we have you, we're okay."

"I'm taking him to Daisy and Lincoln," May got up. "I'll be right back."

Unable to resist, he pressed his lips on hers again, "Alright. I'll take a shower." Smirking, he added before she walked out of his office, "You're welcome to join me if you want."


End file.
